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Imagine waking up every day inspired by a visual reminder of your dreams and goals. That’s the magic of a vision board. This powerful tool helps you clarify your aspirations and keeps you focused on what truly matters in your life.
Whether you’re aiming for personal growth, career success, or improved relationships, a vision board can be a game changer. But how to make a vision board if you’ve never done it before?
No worries, that’s why we’re here! Even if you have created one before, you may still want to read this post, as we include some helpful tips that will help you achieve your goals.
What Is A Vision Board?
A vision board is your inspiration board, a visual mashup of images, drawings, and words that signify your goals and dreams. Think of it as a collage that helps clarify your aspirations and serves as a daily reminder of what you’re working towards.
Creating a vision board isn’t just arts and crafts—it’s about manifesting your dreams into reality. The main purpose? Visualizing what you want in life.
When you focus on specific images and affirmations, you’re not just daydreaming; you’re training your brain to recognize opportunities and pathways to achieving those goals.
Benefits include:
- Clarity: It helps you pinpoint what you really want.
- Motivation: A daily reminder of your goals keeps your fire burning.
- Focus: It keeps distractions at bay, guiding your decisions to align with your vision.
- Empowerment: You’re taking control, making choices that bring you closer to your dream life.
You can create several types of vision boards. Maybe you want to focus on one specific month, one specific goal, the new year, your dream career or business, or your dream life; adjust your vision board to your needs.
Areas Of Focus For Your Vision Board
Not all vision boards look alike; they can focus on various life areas. Here are a few key areas where you might want to set your sights:
- Career Goals: Images, words, or quotes representing your dream job or career aspirations.
- Personal Growth: Visuals of the qualities or skills you want to develop; think books, quotes, or even mentorship goals.
- Health and Wellness: Include images of your ideal fitness routine, healthy meals, or self-care routines.
- Relationships: Represent the type of connections you want—be it friendships, romantic relationships, or family bonds.
- Travel and Adventure: Pictures of your dream destinations or newfound hobbies like hiking or cooking classes.
I like creating a vision board for my personal goals, such as working out, eating healthier, focusing on self-care, prioritizing my relationships, etc. But I also create a vision board for each of my businesses.
Those boards are focused on the goals for each of my businesses, such as starting to send newsletters, reaching a certain number of followers on social media, and more.
Do Vision Boards Work?
Creating a vision board may seem like a simple arts-and-crafts activity, but it can be a powerful tool for achieving your goals.
Advocates suggest that vision boards engage the brain’s Reticular Activating System (RAS), which functions as a filter. This filtering process allows the brain to prioritize relevant information while ignoring distractions.[1]
So basically, this means that by frequently seeing your goals and dreams displayed, your brain becomes more attuned to opportunities aligned with them.
Example of your brain’s RAS in action: you decide to buy a new car with a specific model and/or color. Suddenly, you start seeing this exact car everywhere — on the highway, in your neighborhood, parked at work, on your way running errands, etc.
Visualization, or imagining yourself achieving your goals, is backed by research on how the brain works. Scientists have found that when you picture your goals in detail, your brain acts like you’re actually doing it. This can help improve your thinking and performance in real life.[2][3]
Emotions are super important too! Making a vision board can make you feel good by activating the part of your brain that controls emotions and releases “happy chemicals.”
This means your vision board isn’t just something pretty to look at—it can inspire and motivate you every time you see it. Feeling this connection can help you take real steps toward making your dreams come true.
So, do vision boards work? Absolutely. They help you clarify your goals and serve as a constant source of inspiration and focus.
How To Make A Vision Board: Create One In 6 Steps
Creating your vision board is all about making it uniquely yours. This also means that the type of vision board you create, is your choice as well and should match your style.
I create my vision boards in Canva, using inspiring images from Pinterest to make them aesthetically pleasing, which is an important factor for me to feel happy looking at them.
However, you may like the crafty approach more – cutting out images from magazines and gluing them on white paper. Maybe you even like to use images of yourself or images you took yourself instead of Pinterest or magazine photos. Perhaps you’re a great drawer or painter and want to DIY.
Pick something that’ll eventually make you happy and inspired, even if you’re not creating a “regular” vision board! You may need to tweak the steps below, but the overall “how-to” will stay the same. So, let’s jump into the steps that’ll bring your dreams and ambitions to life!
Step 1: Get Specific About Your Goals
Before you even consider gluing anything down, it’s time to clarify what you really want. Grab a notepad and jot down your goals in various life areas—health, career, relationships, and fun.
Instead of vague aspirations, dive deep into specifics. For instance, rather than just stating, “I want to be fit,” challenge yourself to write, “I want to run a 5k in under 30 minutes.”
This clarity transforms your dreams into tangible targets, making it easier to visualize and track your progress.
Consider creating separate categories for short-term and long-term goals to make this exercise even more powerful. This will serve as a roadmap, guiding you as you curate your vision board.
I want you to think about those wild dreams, even if they seem unrealistic. If making a million dollars is your goal, it may not be achievable in one year, but you can already take steps toward your big dream this year.
For example: One of my ultimate goals in life is to build a dog sanctuary in a foreign country. Is this going to happen in 2025? Absolutely not. But I can take smaller steps to make this goal happen one day. One of the steps I want to take in 2025 is volunteering at an animal shelter.
Step 2: Pick Your Style
Now that you have your dreams and goals written down in SMART-format, it’s time to decide how you want to make your vision board.
Like I said before, will you gather images from a magazine or digitally from a place like Pinterest? Is Canva your go-to option, or do you prefer using a poster? Or any other idea you may have come up with in the meantime.
Consider how each format resonates with your personality and lifestyle. For example, if you’re often on the go or you work a lot digitally, a digital vision board might be more practical. You can put it on your phone, tablet, or laptop screen (or all of them!).
Whatever style you choose, ensure that it feels authentic and motivating to you—this is your personal visualization tool!
Step 3: Gather Your Supplies
It’s time to have some fun and gather your supplies! You can look for images at a craft store, Pinterest, or other places or use things you already have at home.
Look for magazines with pictures and words that match your goals or what interests you. You can also go online and find and print images or quotes that inspire you.
Don’t forget to include personal touches like photos, drawings, or anything that feels special to you, whether these images are of yourself or people who inspire you.
Grab scissors, glue, tape, and markers—these will help you turn your ideas into a real, creative vision board. Set aside an afternoon to get creative and enjoy the process.
Want to make it even better? Invite friends to join and have a vision board party! Sharing ideas with others can inspire you in ways you didn’t expect.
Opting for the digital board? You can still do this with friends – maybe set up a camera or FaceTime with each other while creating your boards!
Step 4: Hunt for Inspiration
Here’s where the fun starts! Flip through magazines or search online for pictures and words that match your goals.
Look for images that make you feel excited or inspired—like a peaceful beach for that dream vacation or a quote that really speaks to you. The key is to choose things that bring you joy and make you feel motivated. If something makes you think of success or happiness, cut it out!
You can also check Pinterest, art websites, or even old travel photos. Pick only the ones that truly fit your dreams and goals.
Once you’ve collected your favorites, take a moment to think about why each one is special to you. This will make your vision board even more meaningful and connected to your goals.
Step 5: Design Your Board
Now it’s time to get creative! Start arranging your pictures, quotes, and anything else you’ve collected for your vision board. Don’t worry about making it perfect—this is all about showing your hopes and dreams in a way that feels right to you.
You could organize it by themes, like career, relationships, health, or personal growth. Or, go for a freestyle look, mixing everything together in one big collage. It’s your board, so make it as unique as you want! Try layering images, overlapping pieces, or creating sections that tell the story of your goals.
Add your personal touch with markers or stickers. Write down inspiring quotes, affirmations, or even your favorite song lyrics to keep you motivated. These little extras can make your board even more meaningful and bring out the emotions you want to feel every day.
Take your time and have fun experimenting until your board makes you feel excited and inspired every time you look at it. There’s no wrong way to do it—as long as it feels right to you and brings you joy!
Step 6: Display It Proudly
Your vision board is ready—now it’s time to show it off! Pick a spot where you’ll see it often, like above your desk, on the fridge, or near your bed so it’s one of the first things you see in the morning. The goal is to put it somewhere that keeps you inspired every day.
If you made a digital vision board, use it as your computer background or phone wallpaper. That way, your dreams and goals will always be front and center, reminding you to stay motivated!
Revisit And/Or Update
Don’t worry about keeping your vision board the same forever—life changes and your goals will too! Think of your board as a living project that grows with you.
If you discover new dreams or decide some old ones no longer fit, update it! Changing your board can feel exciting and remind you of how far you’ve come.
Revamping it every now and then keeps you focused and motivated while showing how much progress you’ve made.
Here’s what my personal vision board looked like for this year. Can you guess my goals?
Conclusion
Making a vision board isn’t just a fun craft—it’s a powerful way to work toward your dreams. When you visualize your goals, you help your brain notice opportunities that match what you want to achieve.
As you pick out pictures and words, remember this is all about you. Your vision board should reflect your personal goals and inspire you to take action.
So, get creative and enjoy the process! Put your board somewhere you’ll see it every day, and watch your dreams start to come to life. You’ve got this!
